STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3028

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2575

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.B. No. 2575, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FIREARMS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Establish mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment for certain class A felonies involving firearms;

(2) Change from a class B felony to a class A felony the penalty for owning, possessing, or controlling any firearm or ammunition while being prosecuted for or having been convicted of committing a felony, a crime of violence, a criminal offense relating to firearms, or an illegal sale or distribution of any drug;

(3) Change from a misdemeanor to a class A felony the penalty for ownership, possession, control, or transfer of ownership of any firearms or ammunition by a person who a court order has restrained from contacting, threatening, or physically abusing any person;

(4) Change from a misdemeanor to a class A felony the penalty for carrying a firearm while under the influence of a controlled substance; and

(5) Establish unlawful possession of methamphetamine while carrying a firearm as a class A felony.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Law Enforcement, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui, Maui Police Department, and sixteen individuals.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Libertarian Party of Hawaii, Bows N Bullets, Puʻuloa Rifle and Pistol Club, Hawaiian Island Republican Women, Hawaii Firearms Coalition, and fifty-one individuals.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from one individual.

Your Committee finds that firearms combined with drug use, repeat criminal behavior, or defiance of court orders creates some of the most dangerous encounters police officers face and pose a significant threat to the safety of the public. This measure provides meaningful deterrence and reinforces that reckless and violent conduct involving firearms will not be tolerated in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that a person convicted of a class A felony under sections:

(A) 134-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), relating to persons prohibited from owning, possessing, or controlling firearms or ammunition; or

(B) 134-9.4, HRS, relating to unlawful conduct while carrying a firearm,

is subject to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of twenty years, without possibility of parole during that period;

(2) Inserting an effective date of March 22, 2075, to encourage further discussion; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2575, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2575, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

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KARL RHOADS, Chair